portland part two

let's just say that the first day of spring is march 21st. after the gala at salt, fire and time my friends all went to a house party, but i went to bed. still on my early morning bakers schedule i was up at 7:30 walking down alberta.

i seldom go to yoga classes, but today i did. hatha yoga. the focus is on your breathe.

i had a text from shunafresh with answers to the question: i'm in pdx where must i go? this was how i found random order coffehouse and bakery. i introduced myself to the baker, but i didn't say good-bye when i left. it wasn't exactly that the bacon cheddar scallion muffin made me cry, but as i sat eating and looking up at their menu board i couldn't help it.

bob's red mill corn, handmade all butter crust, maybe 13 flavors of pie. one day into my trip and i'd already gotten a lot of the perspective i was looking for. i missed my pepples. i miss working with high integrity food. i was humbled by this muffin, and a day or two later the coconut cream pie.

i went back to my friends house and made everyone breakfast. it was a frittata in honor of spring portland style. here is the recipe:

big yukon gold potatoes from the bargain bin at alberta food co-op sliced and simmered until tender in salted water.

yellow onion and fennel cut saute slice and caramelized in raw butter

5 chicken eggs from chickens we knew personally whisked together with a splash of raw milk, basil, the last green onion in the house and a few lonely tablespoons of goatcheese.

potatoes get added to onion fennel mixture, and then egg mixture to that. all gets baked in a 325 oven until just set in the center.

my friend and i ate outside by the coop.

portland

i'm never sure when the first day of spring is. march 20th or 21st? my parents anniversary. march has always been significant for me. it's my birthday on the 29th and often the time of year when i make moves, change jobs and start projects. it's the beginning of spring, and the end of bundling up.

i've been at my latest job for a year now. there has been a lot of rain and to my dismay i haven't been feeling very grateful for everything in my life that's good. i smartly made a plan to get away to visit my old friend tressafresh in portland.

for some reason i hadn't packed and was chilled out on the other side of town eating a hamburger at mealticket. it was a mad dash to the airport but my boyfriendhero got me there in time.

when i landed i took the lightrail to a central location and was picked up and taken to a gala party at the salt, fire and time kitchen. tressa was there and she was in full goddess mode: strapless gray dress and red high heels. she had a team of what looked like gender queer american apparel models mindfully plating hor douvres and washing dishes in the open industrial kitchen.

the rose cardamom kombucha was flowing, a guy name dj lifepartner was djing with his laptop, and a crowd of amicable food obsessed portlanders gathered.

after the raffle of local products and services including lamb bacon and yoga classes we all helped clean up. my new friends went to a dance party, but i just went to bed.

jerk chicken salad

i met a lot of great cooks when i worked at brown sugar kitchen: shunafresh lydon, dre penny, amyfresh shaw, and queen tanya. lotsa ladies in that kitchen.

me and joshfresh were living in west oakland at the time and i really needed to catch a break and find a job. i had flirted, stopped by, dropped my resume but no phonecall. i came in a lot and ate at the counter. finally one day chef tanya asked me if i was still looking for work and i started within a couple of days. the day i came in to interview i met shuna who at the time i only knew from the internet. just walked right up and shook her hand and i haven't been the same since. it was my first time working in a restaurant that had just opened.

amyfresh shaw is a well seasoned chef who at one time was jimmymealtickets boss at 4th street grill. she is known to some as the leftover queen. even though we were very busy there was often food left over at the end of the day. fried chicken and cornbread mostly. her genius solution was something like this: romaine, celery, radish, cherry tomatoes, chopped cold fried chicken, garlicky cornbread croutons and a creamy viniagrette with tarragon. like an italian bread salad all souled out.

that salad was somewhere in my memory bank last weekend when i was keeping an eye on natefresh who was having a fizzy drink stand in our front yard.

the chicken was from yardie jerk a west oakland spot on san pablo at 32nd. chefgene actually built the smoker behind brown sugar kitchen when he was the tenant. yardie doesn't keep consistent hours so if the open sign is lit, pull over. his jerk chicken is divine.

my salad was something like this: red romaine, romanita tomatoes, celery, avocado, radish, daikon sprouts, carrot, pulled jerk chicken, lemon juice dressing and cornbread from sweet adeline on the side.

we ate on our front porch.

circus cookies

last week was winter break and we had nathan. i was doing one of my early morning baking shifts and got word from joshfresh that he was having one of his donut emergencies, and could i take nathan? i had plans to deliver cookbooks in sanfrancisco.

i biked home, got the bug and picked nate up at the donut factory in west oakland.

we dropped some books off at atomic garden in oakland and hit the bridge.

our first sanfrancisco stop was the curiosity shoppe in the mission, where famous blogger heidi swanson bought her copy of souplove. we stayed a while and got back in the car to go to the outer sunset to visit our friend serena one of the owners of general store, that also carries my book.

i just recently discovered this magical block and while i'd definitely noticed trouble coffee i had never bought anything there. natefresh was antsy so i let him go next door. he bought us two circus cookies and one glass of milk. they upsold him on the milk but it was the right idea and probably organic. the cookies had looked good when we walked by.

circus cookies are basic chocolate chip with, i shit you not, crackerjacks baked into them. they were also slightly underset in the middle which i normally don't like, but did. they tasted like childhood.

nate and i walked to the beach eating our cookies, and went on to have more fun than i can remember having. so much much epic fun. i went along with the idea of taking off our shoes and going into the water, even though it was so cold, and i'm sure his mom would have *so* not appreciated us doing that.

soggy and wet we decided to stay and eat in the city. we went to outerlands and this is what we had: hot lemon ginger apple ciders, artichoke with aioli, bacon, leek and cheese tart with green salad, shepards pie, braised cabbage with dark toasted almonds and coffee pot de creme with mixed citrus supremes. all delivered to us with true sacred service.

nathan drew pictures of the ocean while we waited for our food. they are on display in the kitchen gallery at outerlands.

hearts and crafts

valentine love faire at local 123

2049 san pablo in berkeley

february 14

3 to 7

hand made local craft featuring:

amanda gordon: conceptual artisan

chef beckyfresh with her cookbook souplove

ms. jules of thread together handmade

lisa aurora: fine feathered finds

lizzy b. sweatshop-free handmade panties

lori lockheart: vintage love beads

steffy sue on the uke

queen tatiana of florentinacraft: love infused apothacary

and josh the donut man with new flavors

thank you katy and frieda.

best valentines day ever.

outerlands

my first trip to outerlands was right around new years. dm had been out of town for a few days and i'de been having a good time finishing projects and reflecting. a few of my foodie friends had mentioned outerlands; it was on my list. i had a free sunday and use of a car so i went.

outerlands captures both my personal and culinary aesthetic. it's simple and small with most of the kitchen visible. behind the stove is a row of made-there loaves of bread, and the walls are covered in driftwood mosaics. everything looked handmade.

dining here was a magical experience. i was seated outside. i had my own water pitcher, and although all the small wares were from ikea the effect was heath pottery. it was a brunch day and there were maybe six choices. i had the savory pancake with bacon, a side of salad greens, and a hot lemon ginger apple cider. it looked and tasted like they'de steeped organic apple juice on the stove with coins of ginger and then juiced half a lemon and added it right before they serve it to you. so good.

the food runners were cute. kind of a matched set, they had gucci mohawks and wore their rags for wiping down tables in the back like little tails. they made up for their lack of professional serving skills by being caring and genuine.

posted in outerlands i found my new motto: to the past thanks. to the future yes. outerlands: outer sunset in san francisco on judah at 45th. they share their block with some other interesting businesses; trouble coffee co. and general store where you can buy my cookbook souplove.

food network

a lot has changed since my donut man and i moved from west to north oakland six months ago. no more taco tuesdays with bikerjason and asherfresh and no more pirate internet. we pay our own cable bill now, and for the first time in eleven years i have tv that i watch fairly regularly. cable tv. i mostly watch foodnetwork and the shows that involve a competition. we're all pretty into it.

my favorite show is called chopped. it starts with four chefs who cook from a mystery basket of ingredients and compete on an appetizer, followed by an entree and then dessert with one chef getting chopped in each round. the final two chefs aren't judged by who makes the best dessert, but on their overall meal.

i can often pick out the winner right away, and true to my nature often root for the underdog. the person who wins is the one who is the most calm, the one who doesn't abandon correct technique in an unfamiliar kitchen. having range and knowing how flavors go together helps, as does remembering what you already know: appetizers are smaller, dessert should be sweet.